Not necessarily, or even likely, a problem. Look carefully, and you'll probably see that the pulley is turning, but the belt is slipping until it overcomes the inertia of the platter. Does the Aries still use a "talcum powdered" belt? If so, the problem is likely only that you need to re-talc the belt. See the VPI FAQ: http://www.vpiindustries.com/faq.html#faq11 . |
I have a VPI HW-19 Mk4 turntable that sometimes experiences the same symptoms you describe. Assuming there is nothing wrong with the motor, I suspect that the drive belt is slipping. The VPI drive belt needs to be periodically dusted with talcum powder so there is some friction between the belt and the perimeter of the platter. Simply put a little baby talc in a ziplock bag, toss in the drive belt, shake it, then remove the belt and knock off the excess talc, and reinstall the belt. |
does the motor vibrate and not turn? the switch may be at fault. BUT, when i got the SDS i had to "crank up the voltage" (the old plc-2 i had worked great!) to get the motor to start. but when i plugged the motor directly into the wall it worked flawlessly. vpi sent me a resistor/capacitor or something for free IF i wanted to dis-assemble the (huge) motor, but i decided to go with the "noisier" start up voltage instead (84V?). definitely get some talc and treat the belt 1st. then e-mail vpi- they're pretty nice about addressing these quirky problems. |
